French motorways, definition, routes and prices

At present French motorways are spread throughout the country with more than 11.000 km. The maximum speed is 130 km/h in good weather and 110 km/h with rain or bad weather.

French motorways, known as autoroutes, are designated with numbers preceded by the letter A (for Autoroute). Most French motorways are toll roads, the entrances to them are marked as such by the word "Péage". The normal procedure is to pick up a ticket from a booth as you enter the motorway (just press the button); Tolls are paid on exiting the highway, or when the toll section comes to an end. In some places, there are fixed toll points on the motorway, especially in urban areas or toll bridges.

Orange T: Télépéage – slow down only, no stopping - only for vehicles fitted with toll charging sensors. Many toll-gates are for both credit-card payment and Telepéage... meaning that if you have a télépége transpondre, you may still get held up behind people paying by card, if there is a queue.

Frankly, for occasional users of French motorways, subscribing to Liber-T system is a real waste of money. As mentioned, you may have to queue behind those who pay by card.
The "Liber-T" charging sensor is available in the UK, but Sanef, the French motorway operators' company, charges higher rates for users applying via its English language website than for applications from its French website - which can only be used by people having a bank account in France.

Motorway tolls in France - tolls effective as of January 2017

The journey of a car in March 2016, travelling from Calais to Marseille, via Reims, 1060 km, cost € 88.20, remembering that we are just talking a car only (no trailer or caravan).

With regard to the rates for French motorways, please note the following:For car + caravan or normal-size motorhome the price will increase around 50%.Toll rates for trucks / lorries (class 4): in this case, it can increase three times the rate for cars.